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Friday after Ash Wednesday

08 March: Friday after Ash Wednesday

Whoever fasts for religious purposes must not oppress employees or subjects

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2 comments
7 Aug 2022 – 19th Sunday (C)
August 7 2022
Patricia Gamgort, OSB
Readings: Sunday 7th August 2022 I enjoy the daily homilies. Thank you for nurturing my spirit. But I had a difficult time with Thara Benedicta’s saying that Ishmael was not part of God’s plan. I believe God had quite a plan for him. He, too, became the father of a mighty nation of our sisters and brothers.
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2 comments
7 Aug 2022 – 19th Sunday (C)
August 7 2022
THARA BENEDICTA
Readings: Sunday 7th August 2022 Key Message: When we walk in faith, we rest in the bosom of our Lord Jesus. Homily: Our Almighty Father inspires us to live with faith, through our second reading of the day. Father Abraham waited for 25 years for the promise of a child to get fulfilled. He was a big landlord with lot of slaves working for him. He and Sarah would have named many babies born to the slaves. When people had ten or twenty children according to the custom of those times, Abraham trusted in God for one little baby!! It was not for 5 or 10 but for 25 years. This may be a great lesson for us. Abraham trusted that God had a prosperous plan for him. In spite of all the impossibilities that his human eyes could see, he trusted in the possibility that God had promised him. In spite of all the challenges we see currently, we should trust in our Almighty Father who will provide for us. God always has answers to every impossible situation. Regardless of how many mistakes we make, when we go to Him, He will run towards with arms wide open, hugging us. That's why when we really indulge our soul in prayer, we feel a lot of peace. This peace is due to the arms of our big Almighty God embracing us close to His heart. Our Lord Jesus Christ carried the same love in His bosom. The Bible says that during the last supper the Apostle John was lying on the bosom of our loving Lord Jesus Christ. It was not a happy time for our Lord Jesus Christ and all the Apostles, inclusive of Apostle John. All the Apostles were worried, including Apostle John. But only the Apostle John reclined on the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ during his suffering time. Can't we recline at the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ during our suffering times? Is the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ reserved for the Apostle John alone? What made the Apostle John alone rest in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ, when other Apostles were also seeing it? It is the love of the Apostle John towards our Lord Jesus Christ. It gave him the boldness to lie down in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of the rest of the Apostles. St. John owned Him - "Jesus is mine"!! Have you seen a small child feeling shy about lying down in the bosom of his father? The child always has a feeling "My daddy is mine". This is the same feeling of ownership we should have towards our loving Jesus Christ. His bosom is waiting for us to lie down and take rest!!! We may say that since we cannot see the physical body of our Lord Jesus Christ how can we recline at His bosom? Father Abraham sets the perfect answer for us!! Neither did he have the privilege of seeing our Lord Jesus Christ physically during his lifetime on earth. But he rested on the bosom of our Almighty Father through his trust in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ says "Trust in me", he did not say "trust in someone else". Why do we go out of our way, reducing our self respect, also sometimes to people who mistreat us and seek their help? Our Lord Jesus never rejected any one who came to Him. Our Lord Jesus does not want us to undergo unnecessary crucifixion. Once we are done with our duty, the next step is to wait in peace for the saving help of our Lord. Our Lord has promised us "I will never leave you, nor forsake you". When we receive the calling of our God through the silent voice of the Holy Spirit or through the Holy Bible or through messages to do something we have not experienced, we tend to ignore them. We hesitate because we do not know where the call is leading us to. Father Abraham also went through the same path. God called Abraham to go to a far off place, which He would show Him. Abraham was not aware of the destination, but he was aware of the God who knew the destination. Abraham obviously would not have had any answer when Sarah and others who followed him were asking "Where are we going?". He would have replied "I don't know, but God knows". We may wonder where our life is going? We may not know but we know the one who knows. Are we getting frustrated when our Lord keeps us in the waiting room? Are we losing our faith and starting to look for alternatives? Sarah lost faith when she was in her waiting room (Abraham and Sarah were waiting for 25 years). Sarah forced Abraham to have a child from her maid. It was not God's plan. So the child was not able to stay with Abraham. But God promised to take care of Ishmael and make him a mighty nation, though he was not part of God's plan. Out of frustration, when we do something outside God's plan, even then God our Father will set it right. God our Father will reimburse our foolish acts with His acts of wisdom, when we trust in Him. Let us have a quick look at the Gospel reading of today: "“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom" - Our Father is happy to grant us the kingdom of Heaven. Our Lord Jesus will build mansions for us in Heaven and He is also asking us to store our treasures in Heaven when we sojourn on earth. Our Lord Jesus is asking us to be dressed up for action. Certainly He talks about the dress we are going to wear when our time is done. He is asking us to live ready, since he may come at an unexpected hour. How great it will be, if we are able to smile at seeing Him, instead of fearing Him. He explains with the parable of the slave and the master. Then as usual the Apostle Peter asked whether these requirements are only for the Apostles or for everyone. Our Lord Jesus Christ explains the greater responsibility on the Apostles, since they are also in charge of other souls. In the earlier parable, our Lord was explaining the duties of a person who was responsible for his own soul only. Now he elaborates about the persons who are responsible for other souls. Carrying other souls on our shoulders is a huge responsibility. Our Lord Jesus will grant us grace, we should carefully utilize that grace. How can we carry other souls on our shoulders? Let us analyze how our Lord Jesus Christ performed it beautifully. 1. Prayer - 1.a : All the anointed souls will have the Holy Spirit abiding within them. The Holy Spirit will guide you on what to do at the correct time. Especially before celebrating Mass, being filled with the presence of God will be necessary. When we are filled with the presence of God, we can simply radiate the presence of God to the congregation. Please pray for more and more infilling of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ never asked us to pray for food or clothing or shelter. But He asked us to pray for the Holy Spirit. He is our loving Father isn't He? Won't He know what we require? God our Father will happily pour out His Holy Spirit!! 1.b : Pray for all the souls placed in our responsibility. The Bible says how our Lord Jesus prayed for us. He was our intercessor. 2. Preaching - Our Almighty Father sadly said, "My people are perishing for lack of knowledge". What did our Lord Jesus mainly do in the three years of His public life? He preached the Word of God. People are always willing and longing to hear the Word. Our preaching should go out into the world in such a way that Our Almighty Father will not say the same sad words again. 3. Sacrifice - Our Lord Jesus sacrificed His own life for us. He underwent shame, people opposed Him, tried to kill Him by pushing Him down from the cliff and so on. But He was always kind to them and continued doing the task allocated to Him. 4. Helping the people - Our Lord Jesus took care of everyone who came to Him. If we do not have the power to do miracles, we can welcome the suffering people with open arms like our Lord Jesus. Let us do all our best to save the souls in our care!!!
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2 comments
Rite & Reason: Is old ‘pay, pray and obey’ model of Catholic Church on way out?
August 1 2022
Colm Holmes
Rite & Reason: Ursula Halligan ... "A church that does not develop its thinking in an ecclesial way is a church that goes backward," the pope said. "That is the problem of many today who claim to be traditionalists. They are not traditionalists, they are 'backwardists.' Tradition is the root of inspiration in order to go forward in the church." Pope Francis speaking to Journalists on flight home from Canada. Vatican News 30 July 2022
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6 comments
“Safeguarding What?” by Nicholas Peter Harvey
March 15 2012
Therese Fennessy
“Safeguarding What?” by Nicholas Peter Harvey At present I am reading the book by Nicholas Peter Harvey called The Morals of Jesus. It is excellent and confirms all my studies on Jesus. I am a lay Chaplain....called to live my life fully..exactly as it says in this wonderful book...I have this book for years...read it once before...now can't leave it out of my hands...is the author alive and well...thank u for such an in-depth study of Jesus...
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